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ters are unable to reconcile these declarations with His Excellency's understanding that they " protest " against not being allowed to exercise absolutely powers which would virtually give them a very largo " control over the naval and military forces and the naval and military expenditure of Great Britain." 5. Ministers feel assured that His Excellency's opinion that because the General A ssembly is not responsible it would therefore exereiee little or no control over the Colonial Ministers in reference to military and naval matters, is clearly erroneous. Experience has proved exactly the reverse. No questions hare been more fully and energetically discussed in the General Assembly of New Zealand than those having reference to advice tendered to the Governor on questions as to the employment of forces ; nor indeed could it well be otherwise, for such questions are of the utmost importance to the Colony, involving not only its welfare, but the safety of the lives and property of.tho inhabitants. 6. It is quite true that the members of the General Assembly aro collected from great distances, from settlements having a totally different character from those of the population inhabiting districts where there are many Natives, and it must be admitted that generally the information the inhabitants of such settlements possess regarding public affairs is limited, though certainly a more general intereFt is taken in public affairs in New Zealand than in England, and a greater knowledge of them possessed by the public at large. His Excellency, however, does not state what inference he wishes to be drawn from his statement, but it is clear that it is not a favourable one. On the other hand, Ministers regard the facts admitted as beneficial rather than otherwise to a due appreciation and just management of Native affairs during the excitement necessarily incident to the suppression of a formidable rebellion ; for the settlements distant from the seat of hostilities may be fairly expected to send to the Assembly men of calmer judgment, and the totally different character of the population will act as a counterpoise to each other. The main object, however, of the 7th and following paragraphs of His Excellency's Despatch appears to be to depreciate liesponsible Ministries in general in this Colony, and the present Ministers in particular, —to disparage the General Assembly and find fault with public opinion, with apparently the object of proving that there is no one in the Colony at the present juncture fit to be entrusted with the management of public affairs, and therefore that it should be handed over to Imperial officers, or, in other words, to His Excellency himself. The charge that the information given to the Assembly by the Ministry of the day is frequently only such as it thinks fit to transpire, conveys of course the imputation that papers are frequently purposely kept back. This charge Ministers distinctly deny ; it is entirely without foundation ; and Ministers can indeed with confidence appeal to the Parliamentary papers published in every session of the Assembly in proof of the truth of their denial. The several statements which follow on the same subject Ministers feel bound in justice to say are either without foundation or greatly exaggerated. 7. His Excellency states that the sessions of the General Assembly are not only short but by far too infrequent to enable them to exercise such control over public affairs as is exercised by the Parliament of Great Britain It may be observed that if the meetings of the General A ssembly were infrequent, it would be in strict conformity with the plan of a constitution proposed for New Zealand by His Excellency himself, in 1851, and "substantially adopted by the Constitution Act. But how far His Excellency is correct may be judged by the following statement, commencing with the year 1860, that in which the Maori disturbance first broke out in Taranaki. Day of commencement Date of Duration— of Session. Prorogation. No of days. 18G0 - 30th July - sth Nov. - 99 1861 - 3rd June - 7th Sept. - 97 1862 - 7th July - 15th „ - 71 1863 - 19th Oct. - 14th Dee. • 57 It must be borne in mind that mere local matters are not subjects of legislation in the General Assembly, as they are dealt with by the Provincial Councils, so that only questions of general interest engage the attention of the General Legislature; • and it is unquestionable that no subject introduced into the Assembly has received the same consideration and has been so fully discussed as fhose relating to the Maoris, or has occupied one-fifth part of the time; in fact it may be safely affirmed that during the last four sessions—those above referred to— few days have passed in which Native affairs, in uome shape or another, were not under consideration, and a very large portion of the session of 1803 waa exclusively devoted to them. 8. It would be presumption in a Ministry in New Zealand to institute any comparison between themselves and the " strong and powerful Ministry which can be found in Great Britain." But because a New Zealand Ministry is comparatively very weak, it can be no justification for the- inaccurato and exaggerated statements made by His Excellency in paragraph No. 9 of his despatch. It is not true that the direction of affairs, involving largely tho interests of Great Britain, have frequently rested in the hands of two members only of the Ministry ; and it is not true that it was on advice thus tendered to him that the Governor was frequency expected to act in the most important affairs of Imperial concern. The present Government entered office in October 1863, and from that time to the present Mr. Fox has been absent from time to time 38 days collectively on urgent public business, and Mr. Gillies 141 days, for the most part in accordance with the arrangement made when he joined the Government, that he should generally reside in the South with a view to especial attention to Southern business. And Ministers beg to state most distinctly that no Ministerial advice, has ever been tendered to His Excellency by any two members of the Government which had not been previously considered and decided on invariably by one and frequently by two other members of the Government, and that such advice has been in furtherance of plans previously agreed to by every member of the Government. As His Excellency has considered it necessary, for the information of the Secretary of State, fully to express his opinion, on rather personal terms, of the New Zealand Colonial Government, both

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PAPERS RELATIVE TO NATIVE AFFAIRS.